Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: Reviews, Interviews, and Discussion About All the Romance Novels You Love to Read

Today I’m interviewing Julia Whelan, author of the new book, My Oxford Year, which just came out this week, on April 24, 2018. This is a full score production: dogs barking! Car horns! The street sounds of midtown Manhattan! We cover her start as a child actor, and how she moved through acting to audiobook narration to writing screenplays and then a novel. Among the topics we discuss: What makes a good narration? What are the differences between screenplays and novels? How does being an audiobook narrator and actor influence her writing, and vice versa? I also ask some vague non-spoiler questions about the characters in My Oxford Year, and we get a teeny sample of her performance of the audiobook and some of the key characters. We also discuss my very strange idea that Gone Girl and YA have some elements in common, and of course, I ask what she’s reading. I really enjoyed this interview - I almost titled it English Major Nerds Talking. I hope you enjoy it, too.

This week I am chatting with editor and author KJ Charles about lots and lots of different things. She started out as a Mills & Boon editor and then moved to writing, so she has a lot of perspective on the writing and edition process. We discuss plot, character, use of language, editing, and writing romance, especially in various historical periods. Some of the audio is a bit muddy in the recording, and my apologies for that. We discuss what plot and structure are doing in a story, and spend even more time on examining what erasure does in historical settings. When people of color, people of different classes, queer people are erased from history, that has consequences, and Charles has a lot to say about those issues, especially why it matters right now that history is actively rewritten as entirely white, rich, cis gendered and heterosexual. Other topics we discuss include: Fan art, and works inspired by her books and characters - she has a gallery! Use of magic in historical settings World building rules that make for effective stories Is there such a thing as correct use of a language? (Spoiler: not) How being an editor influenced her writing, and vice versa The importance of own voices in LGBT romance and in historical romance, and of representation of accurate history The distinction between inclusion of diverse characters and writing experiences that are not one’s own Big thanks to the Patreon community for questions and enthusiasm about this interview!

Today we are talking women in Aussie Rules Football, and romance heroines who are professional football players. You ready for this? Harlequin Escape recently published a trilogy of novels with heroines who all play for the Australian Rules Football Women’s League. This is a real thing - the AFLW (Australian Football League Women’s) began in February 2017 and has been a massive success in Australia. A professional football league for women! For the romance series based on the AFLW, Amy Andrews, Catherine Evans and Nicola Marsh created the Women of W.A.R. - Women’s Aussie Rules, a fictional league inspired by the real thing. Their three books, Game On, Long Game, and Fair Game, are on sale now. Each novel features a heroine who plays on the professional level, so naturally we had exactly nothing to talk about. First, y’all, you need to see these covers. Oh my gosh. I have a growing crush on the model pictured on Long Game. I really envy her arms. This interview is in two parts. Due to connection problems, I recorded first with Amy and Nicola, and then later with Catherine. In part one, Amy, Nicola, and I discuss the creation of the series, writing athlete heroines, and, of course, explaining Aussie rules football to audiences unfamiliar with the game. With Catherine, we discuss her joy in seeing a sport she loved to play as a young person become a professional league for women on tv. All three authors share what they’re working on, talk about the development of the series, and explore the differences in writing a heroine who is a pro athlete - one of my favorite kinds of heroines, too. BIG THANKS to Kate Cuthbert for helping me coordinate across so many time zones and for contacting me about this new series, and helping me shape the interview as well. Thank you, Kate!

Every now and again on Facebook, I learn that friends of mine from kindergarten are doing really really cool stuff. Today I’m chatting with Vera Tobin, a professor of cognitive science at Case Western, and author of the upcoming book, The Elements of Surprise, which comes out on April 16, 2018. Her book is all about how the surprises, tw ists, and unexpected revelations we love in fiction actually work on our brains cognitively. In her work, she breaks down the different ways in which we processes surprises and twists in books and movies, and the structure of different types of surprises. As you might imagine, when I saw her talking about her book on Facebook, I was immediately super nosy. Harvard University Press was cool enough to send me an ARC, even though I’m not (a) a cognitive scientist or (b) an academic (thank you, y’all!) and it was a fascinating read, and I’m not just saying that because Vera was my best friend in kindergarten. When we recorded this, we probably hadn’t spoken to each other in person or via phone in at least 20-25 years, but we had a great time. She tells us about: The importance of surprise and also cognitive satisfaction, especially in genre fiction The parallels between literary surprises and orgasms The categorizing of spoilers - different types and different effects We also talk about the book The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton, which features a very twisty romance indeed - and yes, we spoil it a little bit while discussing it.

Amanda and I are here together, and we’re talking about audiobooks! We start with truly important topics, like her cat, Linus, and then we move on to all things audiobook. We’ve both found audiobooks perfect for our brains at the moment, though we do different tasks while we listen. We discuss finding audiobooks and discovering what types of audiobooks work for us, and why, including important questions such as: Wait, are you saying Richard Armitage is narrating this book? Which is better, one narrator or two, or more? Group performance or single performance? What do you do while you listen to a book? Are you working out, walking, commuting, walking the dog, or doing quiet activities at home? We discuss all these options and more, plus we have audiobooks to recommend that we loved (and some that we disagree about, too). We compare audio, print, and digital reading and how we respond and engage with each type, discovering slight differences which I found really interesting. Then we talk about our audiobook wishlists and I request your advice on what to listen to next. Please help me if you have an opinion!

Today I’m talking with Margaret H. Willison, who is one of the Two Bossy Dames newsletter, a podcaster at Appointment Television, and a frequent fourth chair on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. We talk about a LOT of different things. I want to start with a trigger warning as we have a discussion about workplace sexual harassment, especially in public-facing jobs such as in a library. We talk about confidence, intelligence, and choosing the right handle on AIM and Twitter, we discuss the separation of professional job life and online life, and we look at the overlap of being a librarian in both spaces in two somewhat different ways. We also cover: - the fine line between emotional labor and informational labor - the degree of professional training librarians receive in both - the process of facing sexual harassment at the service desk as a librarian and in any service industry job - the challenge of recognizing your own history with harassment We also talk about what it’s like to do reader’s advisory, and why she thinks YA isn’t it’s own genre - a really interesting perspective that I hadn’t heard before. You also get to hear my theory on parenting and entrepreneurship books, and Margaret’s work and advice for crowdfunding and “making public the hard work that you do.” That’s something I still struggle with. I almost made that the title of this episode Special thanks to Jen, a podcast listener who wrote in with some questions about librarianship and the process of readers advisory, which led to our conversation about developing recommendations that help people identify themselves as people who enjoy reading.

Today I am speaking with Regina Flath, Designer, Illustrator, and book cover designer at Random House Children’s Books. This podcast was suggested by a listener named Hannah, who heard Regina Flath speak at a panel at NY ComicCon. Regina is a designer who specializes in YA covers - and her bio is adorable. It says she’s “100% constructed from witchcraft, yarn, sewing needles, and snacks. She’s a friend to imaginary creatures everywhere.” Regina is also the designer behind some very popular covers, including When Dimple Met Rishi. We had a LOT to talk about. You’ll hear behind-the-scenes details of cover development, the fun parts and the awful parts, and the jobs a cover has to do beyond looking alluring on a digital or physical shelf. Regina shares: How she figured out early what she wanted to do, and why she targeted book cover design and illustration. The full story of the development of the cover, back cover, and inside images for When Dimple Met Rishi - including whose handwriting is on Rishi’s cup. Regina also talks very candidly about diversity initiatives inside her publishing house, and the ways in which she’s often the lone diverse voice in a meeting (and how exhausting and uncomfortable that position is). We also find out which book featuring LARPing made her extremely happy, and which romance authors are her auto buys, and where you can hear Regina regularly discussing witches in popular culture. Hint: she has a podcast. I learned a tremendous amount from this conversation, but as I say during the interview, my favorite parts of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood were the tours of how crayons get made. This is all about how the beautiful covers we love get made. I hope you enjoy it, too. And thank you again, Hannah, for this suggestion, and thank you Regina, for speaking with me!

Amanda and I interview Mona Darling, who is a professional dominatrix, kink coach, BDSM mentor, and sexual adventure coach. She was introduced by Thien-Kim Lam - thank you, Thien-Kim! So first and foremost: content warning and trigger warning for explicit discussions of sexual kink, sexual practice, and rape fantasy. We talk about how she got her start and how her business works, including the differences between working at a house vs being an independent domme. We have a very interesting conversation about consent and personal motivations for exploring kink, and the struggles of being an introverted domme. Mona also shares advice for finding kinky resources near you, answers personal questions - and gives advice for using erotic literature with your partner(s).

This is a podcast episode inspired by Twitter. If it’s on Twitter, it’s not quite oral history but it’s close? After a Twitter history thread of hers went viral within the romance community online, I asked Elisabeth Lane, the blogging and cooking genius behind Cooking Up Romance if she’d talk to me on the podcast about it. We start by talking about food and romance, her own recipe development, and her reading, reviewing, cooking, and blogging process. Then we turn to her Twitter thread whic h was about romance generations of writers. It began as her own investigation as to when GLBTQ characters began to appear in published romances, which led to her questioning what the terms “old guard” and “new generation” of writers defined, and where different writers emerged from: category romance then fanfic. The thread turned into a very active conversation online, and branched into Melissa Blue tracing the history of Black romance authors, and Corey Alexander examining trans and queer characters, plus Mina V. Esguerra tracing the evolution of Filipino romance authors. There’s a lot to examine in the history of romance, and I’m always learning from the people who examine it from different perspectives. I hope this is as interesting for you, too.

Today I’m chatting with Lorraine Heath, bestselling author of more than 70 books over 25 years in writing romance. We talk about her titles in historical romance, contemporary and paranormal YA, how publishing has changed a little over the years, and of course we discuss her newest book, Beyond Scandal and Desire. We talk about writing as a craft and process, too: you’ll learn what advice Ms. Heath would give her writer self when she started out, and what advice she’d give to a writer just starting now. Other topics include: Her British and Texan heritage, and how she reconciled to very different cultures in her writing (can you guess which book series was inspired by her mom and dad?) Her use of intricate plot lines amid very familiar tropes in new settings What she loves about historical romance Which of her covers are among her favorites, and how cover art has changed over the course of her career And the importance of list making on the part of her characters, and how she has her characters show their own evolution and growth. She also reveals some of her personal auto-buy authors, and shares some recommendations for research books for historical romance writers. I found this conversation very thoughtful and inspiring, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

Today, I’m chatting with debut author Jasmine Guillory. Since we recorded this interview, The Wedding Date has come out, and it was a USA Today bestseller - congratulations, Jasmine! We talk about the excitement of pre-release and the stress of balancing book releases with real life, and what brought Jasmine to reading and writing romance. Some of her favorite books involve characters who lead busy lives and love their careers, which informed her own writing as well. Jasmine tells us about: Writing her own catnip story, and writing characters who own who they are and celebrate themselves the way they are. How her real-life friendships found their way into her story and why friendships are essential to a person’s journey, both in fiction and in real life. The importance of internet friends, in-person friends, writer friends, the fun of recommending your friends’ books, how crucial it is to have people in your life who know about writing and publishing, and people who don’t, and especially, friends who can help you look terrific by talking you into or out of clothing purchases. Her advice to aspiring writers about being proud of yourself, and not comparing your own progress to someone else’s. The importance of lipsticks, lip stains, and her personal product recommendations. Plus, Jasmine solves the mystery of why and HOW I always get lipstick on my glasses, AND the source of one of my reading catnips. We're talking life changing conversation here, people.

Amanda and I interview S. Jae-Jones, also known as JJ, about pretty much everything. Ready to learn? JJ was kind enough to answer all our nosy questions and our conversation was a LOT of fun. We cover a bunch of topics, including: How being an editorial assistant prepared her for a career as an author - and what secret knowledge (not really secret) she shares with fellow writers. How Labyrinth, Phantom of the Opera, the myth of Hades and Persephone, The Magic Flute, fanfic communities, and fandom terms influence her writing. How she navigates the issue of sexxytimes in YA with her own writing. And, in a key portion of this interview, we discuss the parameters of identifying Which Girl Scout Cookie Are You? Spoiler alert: Amanda has very strong opinions about peanut butter, Girl Scout cookies, and oatmeal. JJ also discusses bi-polar characters, writing mental illness, writing with mental illness, making Cho Chang the heroine of a magical world, and how head canons help her with feelings of isolation. This interview goes everywhere, and sometimes the audio is a little muddy, for which I apologize. But fear not! We have an extra-strength collection of recommendations from JJ, complete with Good Book Noise®, creepy stories, and books that are hard to describe but should be required reading. Heads up: she likes to read books specifically looking for the romances, so this is a tasty recommendation list indeed.

This week, I’m interviewing author Chanel Cleeton about her new book, Next Year in Havana, a dual-timeline mystery and romance set in part against the Cuban revolution. Don’t worry - no spoilers! We talk about the cover, which we hosted a reveal for because it’s simply stunning. We discuss the origin of the book, the ways in which her family influenced the story, and the intricacies created by including political nuance and multiple historical perspectives in multiple timelines. Chanel tells us about some of this historical research she did while writing this book, and of course, she shares what she’s reading.

Amanda and I have a lot to talk about in this episode! First, we chat about the recent episode of The Bachelor that we recapped for Smart Bitches (it was TWO HOURS y’all), and what we (might have) learned about the series by watching one episode. (Clearly, we are now unquestionable experts. *Unquestionable* experts!) We then answer a request for advice from Katie, who is looking to make new friends in her new home outside Atlanta. We talk about the process of making new friends, making dates and planning activities with friends, and ways to find the people who love the things you love. If you’ve got advice or suggestions for Katie, please leave a comment at smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast, or email us. And if you’d like to ask us for advice, since we are now Unquestionable Experts, please do! You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com. You can also find us on Twitter @SmartBitches. We also take a recommendation request! This week, we recommend books for Lizzie, who had a miserable holiday due to a homophobic and bigoted family member. Heads up for some bi-erasure and bigotry in her letter. Lizzie, however, being a smart and resilient romance reader, requested some recommendations for f/f or bi characters who come out during the course of the story. We celebrate Lizzie’s coming out, and we do our best to make a varied selection of recommendations. I’m sure you have plenty of suggestions! So please email or tweet at us if you have more!

A Treacherous Curse, the third book in the Veronica Speedwell series is out, so I chat with Deanna Raybourn about the book, the series, and more. We start with dick jokes because obviously, but we also talk about writing mysteries, research, dealing with grief in characters, and the perils of sleuthing. We also discuss similarities and differences between mysteries and romances, and the spaces that are created by women-centered stories in both genres.